What makes a console "next-gen"...?

[Gamerace]

KylieDog said:

ROBOTECHHEAVEN said:
the wii u is a next-gen system, because it does indeed do things that the other 2 current systems cant do. can either the xbox 360 or ps3 do co-op with each player having there own screen while playing black ops2 on the same console, besides the wii u. the answer is no...

The PS3 can do this with some games.

Hell Wii did this to a degree with DS connectivity - FF:CC:Echos of Time, Driver: San Francisco

Gamecube did it as well - Pac-man Vs.